The purpose of this research was to investigate and describe the relationship of environmental change to superintendent-school board decision-making and superintendent turnover. Assuming the resource dependence model of organizational open system theory, researchers hypothesized that the amount of decision-making autonomy boards grant to superintendents and the mobility of superintendents would be related to the amount of turbulence in the community. To gather data for the study, two instruments were developed: (1) a 57-item questionnaire to measure superintendent-board expectations on the relative dependence or independence of the superintendent in various contexts; and (2) a commnity environment questionnaire with 12 questions illustrating important aspects of the relationship between community characteristics and environmental turbulence. A total of 273 school districts were surveyed with these instruments in 1979 and again in 1983. Data analysis suggests statistically significant relationships between the management process occurring in education (perceptions of superintendents and boards concerning the amount of discretionary authority in decision making that boards should grant to superintendents) and environmental turbulence within the community. (TE)

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